Ieq Capital LLC Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 24.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,462 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $2,090,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,202,000 after purchasing an additional 30,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% in the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 22,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,483,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAT. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $450.87.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:CAT opened at $435.14 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $441.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $411.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $359.74.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.